of the lehigh valley through northampton county pen argyl slatington, tripoli coming in with that severe thunderstorm warning. we take a look at the radar. about 67 lightning strikes within this line moving from from the west. the storms are moving at a speed of about 35 miles an hour but there's been some small hail and wind gusts up to 60 to 70 miles an hour within these storms so you can see they're still to the west of allentown but expecting to be in allentown any time in the next 30 minutes. in addition we have a severe thunderstorm warning for a good chunk of northern lancaster county including downtown lancaster adams town ephrata until 4:30 p.m. here. also winds here 60 to 70 miles an hour and this storm as you can see almost looks like it's bogota little bit just to the north of lancaster along 222. 115 lightning strikes and that bowing nature is an indication there's a rush of wind with that particular severe storm as it's moving to the east also at about 30 to 35 miles an hour.

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everyone in the delaware valley, even parts of southern new jersey in a severe thunderstorm watch until 8 o'clock meaning the potential is there for the storms to remain severe as they push from west to east and really what to expect here this evening, those temperatures are so mild in the upper 70's to 80's, fueling these storms so as they pass through, that humidity definitely going to help keep those storms on the strong side with those dewpoints coming in in the mid and upper 60's. we will talk about a big change, though, coming in for the weekend alicia. i think you're going the like your saturday and sunday forecast coming up in a little bit. >> adam before you make plans this weekend be sure to visit 6abc.com/weather. use storm tracker6 live radar to track any wet weather and get expert insights from accuweather. >> a chester county mom facing drug charges made her first appearance in court today. prosecutors say she injected heroin into her own daughter and a 16-year-old boy. "action news" reporter david henry now live in honeybrook with video you'll only see

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right here on "action news" today. david. >> reporter: yeah, brian, west caln police are still looking for jessica riffey's boyfriend who remains on the run this afternoon. she was in court this morning where she gave up her right to a preliminary hearing. jessica, do you have anything to say for yourself? >> no, i do not. >> reporter: 34-year-old jessica riffey had a right to hear the case against her in open court but declined. she was then sent back to prison unable to come up with $50,000 bail. riffey was arrested last thursday for allegedly injecting heroin into her 14-year-old daughter and a 16-year-old boy. the police went to the house when a family friend became concerned about the girl's welfare. >> i got the call as a well being check and went there and saw the situation and deemed it was necessary to get the children out. >> reporter: investigators found deplorable living conditions at the house. they say the two teens told them what had been going on. police say riffey's boyfriend,

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jamison burns supplied the heroin. court documents say he supplied the needles and was there when riffey injected the teens. burn is on the run and the police are hoping he turns himself in soon. riffey was interviewed by west caln police. they say she waived her miranda rights and admitted to injecting the children with heroin, a drug that has become a scourge in the suburbs. >> it's out there. it's everywhere. it's not just where people say in the city or -- it's everywhere. it's a horrific drug and it's destroying a lot of families. >> reporter: and to start a child that young on it. >> very scary. >> reporter: riffey is back in prison this afternoon on $50,000 bail. having waived her right to a preliminary hearing she now goes straight to trial. live in west caln township, david henry, channel6 "action news." brian. >> unbelievable stuff, david. thanks very much. philadelphia police are looking for two suspects they say held up a chinese takeout

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restaurant in the city's tioga-nicetown section. newly released surveillance video shows how the crime played out on monday night. investigators say two men were inside the restaurant when one of them left and came back with a gun. he then pointed that gun at customers demanding their belongings. police say the duo got away with an iphone a wallet and a segway howeve hoverboard. >> dozens of the can mrs. in center city have water as a broken water main got repaired. the line both around sith street near south street. crews are still on the scene trying to fix everything. "action news" reporter trish hartman is live with an update for us and trish, while the water was out certainly some headaches there. >> reporter: that's right, alicia. we learned within about 30 minutes from the department that all customers now have their water back on. the road is still opened up though from there repairs that took the majority of the day. there were about 50 power outages earlier today. peak so says all of those customers were back on line around 12:30 but for many of

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the businesses on fifth street near the break it meant a day of business lost. >> we filled up everything. >> reporter: ron brett sprung into action. >> when i heard it was my block i flew out of bed so quickly to get dressed and call my girls, tell them the water main broke. >> reporter: despite her efforts,. >> no water. >> reporter: she says the health department came and told her without running water she had to close for the day. >> i got one more delivery to do before i go home and that will be the way it will end today and then i come back in here sunday and pray for the best. >> reporter: officials say the break happened just before midnight and the cause is unknown. michael harris from the south street headhouse business district spent part of his day checking in with businesses affected by the break. >> the good news is that the water department is here working on it and it's not a widespread effect. it's limited to this block it looks like at the moment.

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>> reporter: now, officials say this block of fifth street from south lombard will likely remain closed for another hour or two while crews repair the roads so they're encouraging drivers to avoid this area if possible. live on south street, trish hartman. brian. >> it happened again today, a philadelphia school locked down because of reports of a gun. it happened at lincoln high school in the northeast this morning. witnesses said they saw a man on a bike outside the school with what appeared to be a gun. well, that was enough to prompt a brief lockdown there but the all-clear has since been given. one man was taken in for questioning but police have not yet said if they recovered a gun there. and we've got developing news right now. "action news" getting new details about a shooting at texas southern university near houston. authorities say one person is dead, another hurt in that incident that happened at a student housing complex right on the edge of campus. police do have a possible suspect in custody. but are not releasing any

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other details on that situation right now. >> and that shooting this afternoon came on the heels of another one early this morning at north arizona university and on the very same day that president barack obama is honoring the victims killed in last week's campus shooting. >> that's right. the president is in roseburg oregon where he plans to meet with the families of the nine people gunned down at umpqua community college. bazi kanani live in washington now with more on what's become a renewed debate bazi about gun control. >> reporter: good afternoon brian and alicia. a group of protesters gathered at the airport in roseburg opposing the president's agenda on gun control but the white house says he is there today to comfort not campaign. as president obama arrived in oregon this afternoon, the white house says he will be solely focused on the traumatized survivors and grieving families he is there to meet privately. those mourning the nine killed in last week's massacre at a community college but just

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hours before his trip,. >> four people possibly shot. >> reporter: an emergency call at another college campus, one dead, three others wounded in a shooting overnight near a dorm at northern arizona university in flagstaff. >> this is not going to be a normal day at nau. our hearts are heavy. >> reporter: police say the 18-year-old gunman a freshman who is now in custody opened fire as a fight escalated. >> two separate student groups got into the a confrontation. the confrontation turned physical. >> reporter: while president obama is not expected to discuss gun control in oregon his staff is looking into whether he can use executive actions to expand background checks without waiting for a republican controlled congress to act. most republican presidential candidates say the focus should be on mental health. today dr. benn carson is defending his recent suggestion that part of the solution to mass shootings could be more guns. >> do we need have a mechanism in schools or other places

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where you can defend yourself? should we have trained people there? i have no objection to that at all. >> reporter: so far this year there have been at least 10 school shootings. in arizona police have not yet said what led to the deadly fight. in washington, bazi kanani, channel6 "action news." brian, alicia. >> all right, bazi thanks very much. and it is time now for a check of the "action news" traffic report today. >> let's go live to matt pelman in the "action news" traffic center on a friday. >> been a long time coming, hasn't it? >> yes, and it's finally upon us. now we just have to get through a few storms on the way home. get out now if you can. at this point roads are dry, brian and alicia, they're just really clogged as you can see. as we look live at 95 a little bit shaky with the camera but here by allegheny avenue we had accidents on both sides of the fence along 95 by the betsy ross bridge, both crashes are now gone. but they kind of got us off to a bad start this afternoon. so you can see the delays are definitely out there along 95.

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also still have a crash in the southbound lanes just past the airport. but they just got that pushed off to the left shoulder. as trish told us the water break still on south street. avoid third or seventh and expect slowing. also the house fire that we're watching in nicetown along elser street, and of course it's a friday afternoon on the schuylkill expressway. what would friday on 76 be without a lot of speeds in the teens. had a couple earlier issues in camden county in pennsauken, a pole was down along 130, had a truck that broke down along 70 westbound. both of those issues now cleared out of the way but there's still a crash to avoid in pine hill along cross keys road at ne new freedom road and don't forget patco is running on a special schedule again today and that's because of track work. let's grab the ipad do the commuter report on this friday afternoon. one of our friends using the waze app laser suit, i think i might like to have a laser suit, i don't know what that would be like found on object

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on the road on 95 southbound in the area of girard. speeds in the 20's there. no shortage of slow speeds on this friday afternoon. we'll check it again, brian and alicia, in the next half hour. >> between laser suit and hoverboard -- >> it would be so exciting. >> i'm in. >> you could cruise over the traffic. >> love it. matt thanks very much. still ahead on "action news" today protecting your private information. the new changes you'll soon notice on healthcare.gov. >> plans are being finalized for this weekend's columbus day parade. hear from the famous grand marshal whose musical career spans generations. >> coming up later a big statement against bullying. local students take time to literally lay down their message. >> ♪

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>> ♪ >> house republicans huddled on capitol hill today to plan their next move after announcement that through threw there party in chaos yesterday. kevin mccarthy unexpectedly took himself out of contention to replace john boehner as house speaker.

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republicans are not so subtly asking representative paul ryan of wisconsin to run. he, though publically has not vowed that he will said he is considering it and initially was not interested. many of his colleagues are trying to convince him. >> i did everything except carry his gym bag this morning trying get him to do it. the fact is paul ryan is the right man right now. >> other contends include congressman daniel webster of florida, boehner said today he is intender on holding elections at the end of this month. so the clock is ticking. the obama administration has added more privacy protection to the healthcare.gov site. this year there's a new privacy manager that let's consumers opt out of embedded connections to third party advertising and social media sites. the new health insurance sign-up season begins on november 1st. take a look at this. closing numbers on this friday not a bad way to end the back to green arrow, the dow up 34, the nasdaq up just about 20,

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the s & p up marginally about a point and a half on the day. at&t is now letting customers make calls over the internet. the change which started today will only help people who have an iphone 6 or into your version. at&t says phones will automatically switch to a wifi connection for calls and texts if cell signals are low or unavailable. now it does not require a separate app but do you have to have ios9. at the mobile and sprinter rolled out similar features a few years ago. >> this sunday south philadelphia will be beaming with italian pride for the city's annual columbus day parade and today in city council chambers an official proclamation to declare this entire week as christopher columbus italian american heritage week. to celebrate this special grand marshall you see him right there, frankie avalon. the crooner and young heart throb was born francis thomas

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avalon in south philadelphia born at ninth and heart to. he's famous for his hits such as why and venus and his beach party films alongside annette funicello. avalon says coming home for this historic event is a gift. >> how does it feel to come back and be the grand marshal? >> what, are you kidding? i mean, i would stand on broad and porter over vick's drugstore and kind of watch the parade go basement now to be the grand marshal, it is an honor and thanks to this guy right here. >> and frankie will join me for this weekend's columbus day parade live at 1 o'clock this sunday afternoon right here on 6abc and brian, always an honor for me to address city council as well on behalf of 6abc and our involvement in this parade on sunday so we're looking forward to it. doesn't frankie avalon looks great. >> looks incredible. >> ageless. >> i was going say the same thing. geeter with the heater looking

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pretty good. a parade made its way around fairmount park this morning. >> ♪ got to love it. musical group of mummers taking a lead. more than 500 seniors took time to be active this morning sporting bright orange t-shirts. they all went for a mile long walk at boathouse row. the seniors strut health event also had some free screenings and healthy cooking demonstrations. philadelphia corporation for aging and the city's parks and rec department sponsored today's activity there. >> good thing they did it this morning because the sweater about to take a turn. >> it was great this morning, but, yes, clouds building, storms moving in. adam joseph tracking all of it now standing by with the details. >> some of those storms in the western suburbs are on the severe side right now but a good chunk of the area it is still pretty nice out there. it's sunny, warm, it's humid. philadelphia down to the south. we're watching a cold front arrive clashing with that heat and humidity. in fact severe thunderstorm warning in effect until 4:45 anywhere where you see the orange.

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now extending into northern central parts of chester county, near west chester exeter -- exton, that is, honeybrook and then over into all of lancaster county and the southern part of berks county and reading. this particular warning is meaning some business because when you take a look at the radar you can see this bright color of red from reading along i176 stretching down to honeybrook and it's bowing out a little bit. 93 lightning strikes in the last 15 minutes and as this is pushing to the east at about 45 miles an hour releasing winds at the surface near 65 miles an hour, aiming just south of reading, birdsboro pottstown, elverson and eventually phoenixville and exton watch this storm as it pushes to the east. we lift to the north and into the lehigh valley. there originally was a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of this area nearly a town but the warning has expired and the storms are weakening. 22 lightning strikes here but some very heavy rain entering the lehigh valley now in downtown allentown, kutztown, macungie, northern parts of even bucks county and

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montgomery county will get some of this really heavy rain really for about an hour, hour and a half and then it will pass to the south and to the east. as we look at a severe thunderstorm watch, a watch means the potential is there for storms to turn severe. the warning means severe weather has been reported. this until 8 o'clock for a good chunk of the viewing area with the exception of southern parts of new jersey and far southern parts of delaware. again, that until 8 o'clock tonight. as we take a look at some of the wind gusts, again, where we're not seeing the storms you're not reporting much of a wind gust. it's 21 miles an hour in trenton right now but you can see in lancaster county where the storms are coming from how you get that bright burst of color, winds right now 32 miles an hour in lancaster at the last hour it was 43 miles an hour as the storms passed through. ahead of it, though, again very warm with a southerly wind, 78 philadelphia, 80 in millville, 80 at atlantic city but notice lancaster already down to 63 degrees post storms. so we look at the satellite and radar. there's the box just for our

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area. as that cold front is slicing through, it will move through pretty quickly but it will disrupt some of our high school football games and the 6abc high school huddle runner up game of the week the pioneers at the royals at drexel hill, it will be a very wet field, rain will be ending during the game, though, with temperatures quickly dropping into the 60's. we time the storms at 5 o'clock. they're passing south and east of reading approaching philadelphia, trenton and wilmington between about 5:30 and 6:30 and then it starts to slide off the coast at 9 o'clock tonight while it starts to dry to the north and west. and as we begin your weekend tomorrow at 10 o'clock, not much in the way of cloud cover, a very nice start to the weekend. your four day at 4:00 forecast, cooler and breezy tomorrow for that temple game at linc, looking pretty good. a little coolish at 66 degrees and then sunny and pleasant for the eagles at the linc, even better on sunday because we lose the lack of wind and a little warmer of 70 degrees and then 76 on monday with the

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flyers home opener and then on tuesday, cloudy with the next front. that one doesn't have as much energy, just maybe a possible shower with a temperature of 72 so we'll continue to track these storms on double scan as they approach philadelphia in the next couple of hours. >> all right. >> some people have monday off for columbus day. >> they do and it's going to be beautiful. beautiful long weekend. >> all right. >> those lucky folks. >> adam thank you. still ahead on a friday afternoon together they've worked more than -- well, 7,000 years as you might guess that made for one remarkable retirement party in center city today. >> wow. plus, local students take a big stance against bullying. their message to the entire community when "action news" comes right back.

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>> ♪ >> philadelphia water opened its newest storm water management project today. more than 200 plants covered the living wall installation at independence park institute in center city. organizers are calling it a solar powered billboard of sorts promoting green

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solutions to protect the environment. >> get this. a collective 7,000 years of service was honored in center city today. the action cam was at this luncheon at jefferson station this afternoon as septa saluted 249 workers who are retiring this year. 14 of them have amassed more than 40 years of service to the transportation authority. one has worked for septa for 45 years. officials also unveiled a wall of honor with each retiree's name and employee number. chopper six captured a bold anti-bullying message in camden county this afternoon. you're looking at #respect in human form. the students atwater ford elementary used their bodies to spell it out. they wanted to promote a positive culture and curb negative behavior in their community and they timed this display to coincide with new jersey's week of respect which is mandated by the state to combat school bullying. >> good for them. >> great message. >> you've got it. still ahead, what's better than barbecue? not a trick

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question. free barbecue. what you need to know to pick up a dining deal that is exclusive for 6abc viewers. >> plus investigating the line between being politically correct and overly sensitive. why one local high school had to reconsider a spirit day theme that honored americans. >> ♪

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>> ♪ >> it is 4:30 and "action news" continues on this friday with an accuweather alert. right now there are severe

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thunderstorms, watches and warnings being posted across the viewinger. >> let's get right over to meteorologist adam joseph at the big board for the latest. >> they're moving into the western suburbs of philadelphia right now chester county on the brink of montgomery county passing through lancaster berks, the lehigh valley. a good chunk of the area still it is dry, it is warm, it is muggy. temperatures today hit 80 degrees across much of the area and with that humidity it's helping to fuel these storms with a cold front passing through. severe thunderstorm warning in effect for the next 15 minutes or so for southern parts of berks county, reading, most of lancaster county and a small section of chester county near exton, west chester and as you lift north and west towards honeybrook but also even though pottstown, royersford, even near east norriton or king of prussia you're not in the warning as of now, the storms are aiming towards your direction so i would still be on guard in parts of northern montgomery county. in fact, take a look at this nasty storm right now. 96 lightning strikes in the

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last 15 minutes. almost has a little bit of a bow nature to it between honeybrook and pottstown. pottstown not in the warning but you can see this is aiming right towards you and 422 and also towards lansdale. the winds with this in excess of 65 miles an hour with the storm and very vivid dangerous lightning and brief heavy rain and again, this heavy rain will be blinding for many folks that are traveling around for the evening rush hour so watch that particular storm. but you can see this is all a part of a line all the way from new england, down north and west of washington, d.c. the rain is not going to last all that long. it will continue its journey through philadelphia between 5:00 and 6:30 this evening and then off the coast by around 9, 10 o'clock. winds could be up to 70 miles an hour with some of the storms, not all of them, small hail is also possible and expect about a quarter to three-quarters of an inch of rain in a very short amount of time. we'll chat about the storms as they depart and a beautiful weekend setting up in that

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seven-day forecast in just a little bit, brian. >> all right, adam, see you then. thanks. a reminder when severe weather or breaking news happens near you, joins action. e-mail photos and videos to join the action at 6abc.com or use the #6abcaction on social media. >> turning to montgomery county an question about political correctness. this after administrators at great valley high school shot down a homecoming day theme that celebrated americans. "action news" reporter john rawlins is live outside the school in malvern with the details and a very tricky situation here, john. >> reporter: indeed it is. home of the patriots, that is the name of chester -- or excuse me, of great valley high school. it is the home of the patriots. on november 11th, they raised money on patriots day for veterans groups. which makes all of what you're about to see and hear all the more curious. great valley high school is its administration being

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politically corrects or is this just a failure to communicate? home coming is next week. student leaders had asked one of its spirit day themes to be america today, a celebration of pride encouraging kids to wear red, white and blue but the request was not allowed by the administration. student julia kennedy told us student leaders were baffled. >> i just heard from some friends that -- who were in city council that they weren't allowed to do america today and that's what they wanted to do and they were told that they had to switch it to heritage day because it might offend some people. >> reporter: a student leader confirmed to us today they were told america day would be offensive to some people not born in america. instead, eventually world heritage day was suggested. julia's dad ross began an online petition to restore america day. >> peeks my interest to hear that something as benign as america today could be something that would be offensive to somebody else. >> reporter: kennedy's point, there is nothing exclusive in celebrating a country that has welcomed

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migrants throughout history. the district superintendent met with the student leaders today. we asked her if anyone in the administration had told the kids that america day was pulled because it was offensive. >> i asked that exact question and i was told today in the room with the student and the administrator and the advisor that the word offended was not used and i asked that pointed question. >> reporter: so, this is any other political correctness rurun a muck. >> i don't believe so. >> reporter: there was a special meeting in the wake of all this with the student leaders. the superintendent told them if they want america day go ahead you can have it for next wednesday. they were to go into a special meeting. here are the results. we're told that world heritage day is now out but so is america day. instead, what they will do is celebrate your country day. that is the theme for next wednesday for spirit day. live in malvern, john rawlins channel6 "action news." brian. >> all right, we'll have to head back there on the fourth of july, john, see what happens. thanks very much. philadelphia police need

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your help solving a brutal assault outside a bustleton bar last weekend. this video is hard to watch. you can see a woman pointing at the victim outside the ben neat bum's on the 9900 block of bustleton avenue last saturday. within seconds the male suspect knocks the 52-year-old man to the ground, pummeling him. the woman soon runs off but her partner continues to punch, kick and stomp that man. he ended up needing five staples in his head. if you recognize either suspect, please call northeast detectives. meanwhile police in olde city are warning people to be on alert this weekend after a man allegedly robbed three separate groups in less than an hour last saturday night. two of the crimes happened on the 300 block of south fifth street. the third happened at front and dock streets. in each crime the suspect threatened the victims with a gun, then stole cash and belongings. reporter jeff clu will

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have much more at 6:00. >> state health officials launched their prevention efforts with this vaccine clinic at the new castle county farmer's market. the centers for disease control recommending everyone six months and older receive the vaccine every year. >> blood clots can create life-threatening situations and one mom is telling the story of how she was diagnosed with one dangerous clot when she was pregnant. "action news" anchor monica malpass live with details on the story lots of moms need to hear, monica. >> absolutely. hi, brian. the woman lives in dallas but after her blood clot diagnose a local relative connected her to a doctor at penn medicine which made all the difference. it was discovered she had something called may therner syndrome. that's when an artery in the pelvis lays on top of and compresses a major vain. coming up tonight on health check at 5:00 ali gorman will talk about how the doctors at penn got rid of the dangerous clot and you'll find out why

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many people may have the same problem and not even know it. we'll have that story and much more on "action news" at 5:00. see you then, guys. >> monica, thank you. it is italian american heritage month and here in historic philadelphia there's a lot to toast to. you've probably seen the signs in the italian market that read cenzani as flynnth street celebrates a century of culture and tradition. 100 years of the italian market. >> 100 years. we're celebrating our zenzani. >> reporter: each steps comes way long sense of not taj gentleman like it's 1915 and in many ways not much has changed. dominic has been working in his family's butcher shop since he was five. it opened back in 1920. the secret, it stayed in the family. >> you have people that are willing to work hard, okay, you have a lot of families involved. >> reporter: now ninth street is where the old meets the new.

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restaurant nook just opened steps away the fruit and vegetable stand still standing still providing the pulse. >> without them i don't think we'd have half the business we have. >> reporter: really? this is the heart and soul. >> that's the heart and soul. >> reporter: up the block did you bruno brothers they have been serving cheese for 50 years. they had the honor of creating pastries for pope francis. >> i got the some end yu. s'mores were on the menu. >> reporter: you like s'mores. you should keep them on the menu. >> it is. i am. it's going to be here for a long time. >> i think this is probably the most intact little italy in the whole united states. there's little italys in new york but they don't have the residents like we do. we still have the residents. jodi is one of the organizers of the city's columbus day

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parade a day to celebrate the city's storied and strong pride. >> this is the heart and soul of the italian immigrant. >> reporter: and of course the columbus day parade is this sunday. you can match it live right here on 6abc at 1 o'clock. and you know, brian, the pope likes s'mores: that's the take away ther there. >> sometimes i want to come back in my life as you because you get to taste these. thanks alicia. volunteers have given new life to a community space in camden. the new jersey tree foundation and td bank employees planted 130 trees at the park today. this was more than boosting the landscape. the trees are crucial to boosting storm water and a final sneap a major renovation to reduce severe flooding in the surrounding area. hundreds of kids gathered to learn about something many of us take for granted. this was the make a splash water festival at palmyra

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grove nature park in burlington county. the event promotes appreciation for water resources and conservation. students from cinnaminson's rush intermediate school rotated through 16 learning stations all throughout the morning today. and still ahead here, we have a delicious dining deal reserved just for "action news" viewers. what you need to know to get free barbecue. >> love it. plus a dramatic rescue in georgia. a stranger rushes to save a man after his motorcycle caught fire at a gas station. why police say he left his bike running while filling up. >> and if you were a fan of new york's original pizza rat, get ready for pizza rat part two and this sequel includes a villian. details of the road dent robbery sparking another social media firestorm in big talkers. >> i can't even look. >> you can'ting. >> i can't look at the rats. >> adam joseph back with your full accuweather forecast coming up next. vince mazzeo-

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fighting to save atlantic county. chris brown's attacks? the press calls them "embarrassing" political "posturing." the truth? chris brown and will pauls opposed the atlantic city rescue plan, even though it would save thousands of our jobs. we already know they're propped up by north jersey casino interests.

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and pauls even wanted the vote to allow north jersey casinos "this year." now they brag about helping atlantic county. but there's a word for politicians like that. hypocrite.

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>> fire officials in georgia say this gas station blaze likely would have been deadly had it not been for an heroic customer. police say the motorcyclist left his bike running while he was filling up in order to listen to the radio. that radio was apparently the reason he didn't hear the gas spilling out of the tapping. he the overflow quickly ignited setting both the motorcyclist and his bike on fire. fortunately that good samaritan immediately rushed over and put out the flames with his sweater burning his arm in the process. though the biker was seriously hurt, he is expected to make a full recovery. >> now to new zealand and video that might convince you to keep your feet planted firmly on the ground from now on. a group of french hikers were crossing over a suspended foot bridge this week when suddenly collapsed beneath them. the tourists say they heard a crack before the cable snapped send throwing of them

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plummeting 26 feet down into the river. the fourth hiker managed to hang onto what was left of that mangled bridge. incredibly all of them walked away virtually unscathed. two popular fantasy sports sites the subject of a class action lawsuit. the suit filed in federal court today allegeds phanatic dual and draft kings give their employees an unfair advantage. employees of each web site which run daily fantasy games are allowed to enter contests on the other site. the suit maintains those employees have access to research that gives them a distinct edge and neither company has offered comment. >> big question is cheerleading a sport? well, the american medical association says yes because of its rigors and risks and just today the governor of california also signed a law declaring competition cheerleading a high school sport. this designation is a big deal putting it on the list means more safety measures for

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cheerleaders and proper training for coaches. this also helps create a funding source for the sport which typically relies on donations from private companies and of course help from the families of the cheerleaders. okay. we are sure by now you've seen the viral video of a rodent dragging a piece of pizza down the steps of a new york city subway station but now the so-called pizza rat has company. both on social media and in the new york city subway system. here is the sequel folks. apparently like most breathing creatures these critters love thin slice pie so much that they are willing to duke it out over the cheese, the crust, the sauce, the whole shebang and these two guys, the new viral stars of instagram go at it. one has the slice. the other steals it. a tug-of-war ensues and victory. the original rat escaping with the slice. no word on whether either is the original pizza rat. speaking of which, if you are still in search of a halloween

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costume we present you with this new entry into the sexy costume market. pizza rat but not one, two slices of pizza. must be like buy one get one free day with this to the tomb. got the ears and everything. >> yeah, i like that they're calling that a sexy one. >> well, you know. >> pizza. all right, my friend. thanks alicia. let's get a check on the roads right now. matt pelman standing by in the "action news" traffic center with an update. hey, matt. >> i say the more slices the better and i'm sure you agree with me, brian. good afternoon. we're saying rats about the traffic at this point because it's the tale of some really heavy delays as we look live at the schuylkill expressway. we wish we could slice them in half or even by a third but at this point we're stuck with them. 53 minutes on that westbound travel time on the schuylkill. it's a solid line of traffic the whole way from university avenue through this point at the boulevard out to the blue route where we join up with delays on 476 itself. so those delays not helping us out. it's just kind of a spillover

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effect. really slow moving traffic in both directions on the schuylkill this afternoon. sometimes people use route 23 conshohocken state road as an alternate to 76. might not want to do that this afternoon because there's a crash along 23 between gladwyne drive and righters mill road. also watching a crash in concorde township delco along 322 near smith bridge is road and a bunch of accidents in montgomery county. one along burnside avenue at germantown pike. have one in the heart of norristown along roberts street and a crash partially blocking the ramp from valley forge to the westbound turnpike. traffic squeezing by but definitely doing so slowly. that, too, is exhibiting to those westbound 76 delays. watch out for one more wreck in north coventry at northern hanover street not that far from pottstown where the storms are barreling through. we'll check it again brian and alicia in the 5 o'clock hour. >> matt thank you very much. and we'll step outside sky6 looking live over center city from our temple atop -- from our camera atop temple

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only at your lincoln dealer. ♪ dunkin' donuts' dark roast coffee is deliciously roasted for a bold start and smooth finish. for a limited time, get any medium hot or iced dark roast coffee for 99 cents. >> i'm meteorologist at dam joseph. i'm working with cecily tynan and melissa magee back there. we just were issued a tornado warning. we're getting the information for this and so it's just issued for right now until 5:15 a tornado warning meaning the possibility is there that radar has indicate add tornado is possibly rotating in parts of montgomery county and near also the border of chester county that's moving east at 45 miles an hour. it was indicated on the radar about 14 miles north of west chester near royersford. that's right on the border of montgomery county and chester county moving to the east at

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again 45 miles an hour so some of the towns that have this tornado warning in effect until 5:15, east norriton and also king of prussia moving to the east again at 45. let's take a look at the present radar right now and this is where we're looking. here is phoenixville. this is pretty far south of where the tornado warning s the tornado warning is a little farther to the north near spring city and up to the north of northern end of this particular radar imagery near limerick and also near royersford. so, we're seeing a little bit of a hook in the radar as you can see right up here to the north. if we can bring this radar a little bit more to the north so we can see where it's near pottstown. this is where we're starting to see the influx of winds here. not looking at any cylinder at the present time but this is where we're seeing a little bit of a hook in that radar just to the east of pottstown heading towards limerick and also just to the west of mainland frederick right there, 134 lightning strikes in this particular vantage point and again it is not so certain that a tornado is on

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the ground but the radar was just showing by the national weather service some spin. at this point we will watch this particular area between pottstown and limerick as it's particularly moving to the east at about 45 miles an hour. anywhere near pottstown, again, trappe, spring see i would definitely get on the first level of your floor. in fact we'll take a look at what you should do when a tornado warning is particularly issued. you want to stay away from the second story of any building or third, fourth, anything beyond that. be on the lowest level of your floor, avoid window. also interior hallway or bathroom is the best place to be because you don't want to be in the exterior of the home you want to be in the interior of the home near a closet. cover your head. if you don't have an interior closet and you're exposed to any windows definitely want to protect yourself with this particular tornado warning. again, here you are in some of the towns and the times as this is pushing off to the east. new hanover at 4:51. that is when the expected

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possible tornado will be hitting some of these communities. barlow heights at 4:54 is, fruit fill 4:55. limerick center 4:55. this is a very populated area, 422, you got the outlet mall, limerick outlet mall and that is right in the direct path of this possible tornado. as you can see a little bit of a look in the radar now east of pottstown far to the east of birdsboro. again we're not looking at any particular cylinder on this but you know what, i'm also going to go back here -- i'm going to still talk over this particular image for you but we'll look and see if we can pull up one of those cylinders on the radar as the storm is moving east at about 45 miles an hour. overall at this point again it is a radar indicated tornado at this particular time but there you go, there are the cylinders that are popping up near pottstown and also just to the north and west of limerick. to the south of new hanover, frederick as this is moving to the east at again around

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45 miles an hour in this particular area. graterford i would be on the first level of your home as well. let's zoom this out a little bit and show you again, that kind of void as you see, we have the deep colors to the north. we have the lack of color of the green near limerick. that's where you get the influx of some of those winds that siphon into this particular storm and cause some rotation in the atmosphere so you get the winds to come in like this, so again, limerick, trappe, spring city you're pretty far to the south so you're okay where spring city is but here again is that border of chester and montgomery county. now moving into montgomery county so it is north of chester county at this point. but again, we'll look at the area of where this particular tornado warning is in effect until 5:15 p.m. right there is where we're seeing the cylinder and it's heading towards the east, towards east norriton. if you're in king of prussia, you're right on the border because king of prussia is a little to the south and east and again the storm is moving in more of this fashion towards the east but still with your -- if you're near

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this red box you definitely want to take shelter at the present time. here we are looking at it. you still have the cylinders. here's the towns and the times. the new ones near fruitville at 4:56, limerick center at 4:57, new hanover square, about three minutes before 5 o'clock. and also lindbergh heights, three minutes before 5 o'clock at 4:57. so that's about three minutes from now. you have time to get to the first level of your home. again, you have a perfect signature here with the void in the green on the radar here. that's the winds being siphoned into the storm and creating some kind of rotation. typically when we see these cylinders, one just went away, when you look at the exterior of the cylinder with double scan live radar notice the color is yellow. that means upper level winds. if this was a red cylinder, then you would know that the winds are rotating all the way down to the surface so at this point still want to -- still want to create that it could

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be a tornado on the ground. right now when you look at that cylinder you see it's upper level winds and not so much at the surface but it's something we'll track as it's moving along 422. i'm going to bring in meteorologist cecily tynan to take over a little bit while i take a look at more data back at the weather center. >> thank you adam. at 4:44 this afternoon the national weather service issued tornado warnings. this is from royersford including east norriton, the king of prussia area and this warning is up until 5:15 this evening and now what we've been getting, we have a very strong cold front that's working from the west. we have a lot of energy ahead of it so this is create some severe weather. we've had wind reports of 55 miles an hour and adam and i have been watching this particular line for about the past half hour because we have been seeing a bowing, a bowing of this does indicate rushing winds, damaging winds and also we have been picking up that cylinder that does indicate some rotation in the atmosphere. again, this has been doppler indicated. no reports of anyone actually

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seeing a funnel cloud but when you do see this, do you really want to take it seriously. so, this is moving toward the east very quickly at 45 miles per hour. so, if you live in these communities, you do want to seek shelter immediately. fragelville, fruit fill, new hanover square, limerick center lindbergh heights and frederick. we've moved this into relative velocity. what this shows is the winds heading towards the radar site and the winds heading away and we are seeing -- if we can -- can we put that back on? we are seeing a little bit of that shifting with the winds and again that is indicated with that cylinder as well as it continues to push to the east at 45 miles per hour. so, this is worth repeating. we don't get a lot of these tornado warnings but tornado safety. what you want to do, if you have a basement, go into the basement right away. you want to avoid any windows. go to the lowest floor of your house. if you don't have a basement, get into an interior hallway or a bathroom and very key to

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cover your head immediately because a lot of the problems with tornadoes, it's flying debris. it can cause a head trauma. so let's head back to the radar and i think what i would like to do is go over to the big board so we can show this. can they follow me? i'm going to pixel. i think we can show it a lot better. here we go. thank you for following me. so here we have it right here. this is where we have a possible tornado. we at least have some rushing winds. it's just to the north and to the east of pottstown moving through limerick right now and we see that bowing so that is an indication of a possibility of a tornado and it's moving very quickly, this whole line is moving east at 45 miles per hour. so, here are some of these communities and actually melissa, if we could extend this to include a few more communities. this is a very populated area. as we extend it, there we go

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and we can see limerick 4:59. what time is it now? so, in about one minute rider now. we've had 73 lightning strikes associated with this. also it's the evening commute, so we are looking at the blue route right here. so, if you know anyone who is heading towards the blue route right now, give them a call, say wait for awhile until this storm passes. a lot of times when we get a storm like this, we can see kind of a raining out of the storm so that can lead to lesser intensification and hopefully we can see the tornado warning expire. right now we're looking at the cell right to the north of 422 heading towards the blue route. 71 lightning strikes in the past 15 minutes. this is pretty intense cell and the communities -- all right, this is good. thank you so much. trappe, schwenksville, yerkes, graterford t-rahns and collegeville all in the path of this storm. again we have that tornado warning in effect until 5:15. let me go back to that graphic and so you exactly what we're

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looking at and if i can actually get a cup of water as well that would be great. all right, if you're just joining us tornado warning has been posted for parts of montgomery county until 5:15 including royersford heading towards east norriton and king of prussia. we've had some very gusty thunderstorms rolling through and we're looking at this bowing out right now and this is an indication that we could be seeing some rotating winds at least some very strong winds, wind gusts up to 55 miles per hour reported with this storm. as i get a drink of water. thank you very much. so, if you live in these communities, trappe, schwenksville, yerkes, graterford, ramns or collegeville seek shelter immediately. and some of the key points really, what you want to do, you want to get away from the top floor. if you have a basement, a great idea and if you're in your car, pull over, try to get into a safe building or at least leave your seat belts on

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and get your head under the window. that can be very key as well. this is something we don't deal with much in this area but again, tornado warning until 5:15. >> we're taking a look right now at double scan live radar overall. we're looking at this particular area near limerick. that is where we're possibly seeing this rotation. it continues until 5:15. this was issued 10 to 15 minutes ago just to the west of pottstown near royersford, moving to the east at about 45 miles an hour. the towns right here you can see quirks around 5 o'clock, graterford 5:01, collegeville also 5:01, evansburg around 5:02. this is moving into very populated areas of montgomery county near interstate 476, the northeast extension. we are dealing with very heavy rain right on the brink north of worcester and also lansdale near the quakertown exit, also extremely heavy rain and very vivid lightning. there you can see that little influx, the void of some of